"Freedom to Travel" Event

[Kat Kanning]

Manchester Airport, Saturday June 11th, noon.  Russell will try and board a plane to Philadelphia to see Independence Hall while carrying only a copy of the Declaration of Independence.....no ID.

[AlanM]

Stand in line and don't complain! 
This is good. Really good. 

[Russell Kanning]

another no-fly victim
http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=3398

[howboutanonposting]

Some personal experiences with TSA you may find interesting...

A couple of years ago I was in line to be screened and the TSA agent asked me to remove
my shoes.  Now a lot has changed in airports since 9/11, some good, some bad (most), and
some degrading, and I really disliked the whole "remove your shoes" bit.  Maybe it was just a personal
thing that epitomized everything that I felt was wrong with the whole situation.

I groaned and asked, "Is it really necessary?"

To my surprise he shrugged, and said "Unless you want the extra screening."  Given the time of day,
the lines were short and no one else was in the area awaiting extra screening, so I said "OK, sure."
I wanted to see where this went.

I stepped up to the metal detector and the guy on the other side asked me to remove my shoes,
but I said "I'll take the extra screening."  He got a surprised look on his face and waved me through.
Then had me stand in a roped off area while they called a guy with a wand over.

They wanded me, then he patted my ankles and upper and lower back to see if anything was concealed.
Normally I would have been pretty ticked off at this treatment, I certainly was when I'd had it before
for not removing all the metal and change from my pockets.  This time, however, it was no problem
at all.  I even joked with the screener, "Do I tip you now?"  He chuckled.

When it was done with and I was on my way I said, "Have a nice day."  There was a surprised look on
his face, but he responded, "You too, sir."  Total time was probably a couple of minutes.

Fast forward a couple of years and I'm taking another flight so I decide to do the same thing.  The guy
asks me to remove my shoes and I just say "I'll take the extra screening."  I move onto the metal detector
and the guy there asks me to remove my shoes.  "I'll take the extra screening," I say.  He is surprised
and says, "Most people don't *want* the extra screening."  I shrug and the screener moves me to the
"VIP" lane as he calls it (the roped off area).

I am then led over to a chair and a guy with a wand.  He's about to get started, but the screener at the metal
detector says "Just the shoes."  What's this?  I was resigned to the whole wanding and patting down, and
was really debating it in my head whether this was worth it, but this was something new.

Get this: I sit in the chair, the guy pulls out some moistened cloth and swabs both my shoes.  I just had to joke
at this point, "I didn't know you shined shoes!"  Which made him chuckle as well.  He placed the cloth on some
machine, hit a button, and no warnings came up. 

I was on my way in less than 30 seconds, way faster than I could have untied and retied my shoes, plus they
were actually shinier than before.

On the return trip I knew I was definitely going to go for the extra screening.  Less time, shinier shoes...and
strangely I felt some sense of justification.  If they're making everyone remove their shoes, I'm at least going
to make them do their job.

On the return trip I place my belongings on the conveyor belt and step up to the metal detector.  I'm waiting
for the guy on the other side to say something but he justs waves me through.  I pick up my stuff and go on.
Zero down time.  I'm thinking: "This just keeps getting better and better, but I think that guy was probably
supposed to at least look at my shoes."

Reminded me of a line from a famous movie.

[Russell Kanning]

That is funny

[Kat Kanning]

We're going to the airport tonight for some fun.

[Kat Kanning]

Jenn just sent this:

http://www.papersplease.org/davis/facts.html

Commuting By Bus In Denver? Papers, Please.
DEB DAVIS LIKES to commute to work by public bus. She uses the time to read, crochet or pay bills. It's her quiet time. What with the high price of gas, she saves money, too: a week's worth of gas money gets her a month's worth of bus rides.

Deborah Davis and Son

Deborah Davis defends freedom at home while her son serves abroad in Iraq.
The bus she rides crosses the property of the Denver Federal Center, a collection of government offices such as the Veterans Administration, the U.S. Geological Survey, and part of the National Archives. The Denver Federal Center is not a high security area: it's not Area 51 or NORAD.

On her first day commuting to work by bus, the bus stopped at the gates of the Denver Federal Center. A security guard got on and demanded that all of the passengers on this public bus produce ID. She was surprised by the demand of the man in uniform, but she complied: it would have meant a walk of several miles if she hadn't. Her ID was not taken and compared to any "no-ride" list. The guard barely glanced at it.

When she got home, what had happened on the bus began to bother her. 'This is not a police state or communist Russia', she thought. From her 8th grade Civics class she knew there is no law requiring her, as an American citizen, to carry ID or any papers, much less show them to anyone on a public bus.

She decided she would no longer show her ID on the bus.

For the next two weeks she said had no ID. The guards would then ask her if she was getting off on Denver Federal Center property. When she told them 'no', they would let her alone: not once was she ever asked to get off the bus.
The Compliance Test
On Monday, September 26th 2005, Deb Davis headed off to work on the route 100 bus. When the bus got to the gates of the Denver Federal Center, a guard got on and asked her if she had an ID. She answered in the affirmative. He asked if he could see it. She said no.

Welcome.

Visitors Welcome (to be arrested). The entrance to the Denver Federal Center.
When the guard asked why she wouldn't show her ID, Deb told him that she didn't have to do so. The guard then ordered her off the bus. Deb refused, stating she was riding a public bus and just trying to get to work.

The guard then went to call his supervisor, and returned shortly with a federal policeman. The federal cop then demanded her ID. Deb politely explained once again that she would not show her ID, and she was simply commuting to work. He left, returning shortly thereafter with a second policeman in tow.
The Second Compliance Test
This second cop asked the same question and got the same answer: no showing of ID, no getting off the bus.

The cop was also annoyed with the fact that she was on the phone with a friend and didn't feel like hanging up, even when he 'ordered' her to do so.

The second cop said everyone had to show ID any time they were asked by the police, adding that if she were in a Wal-Mart and was asked by the police for ID, that she would have to show it there, too.

She explained that she didn't have to show him or any other policeman my ID on a public bus or in a Wal-Mart. She told him she was simply trying to go to work.
The Arrest
Suddenly, the second policeman shouted "Grab her!" and he grabbed the cell phone from her and threw it to the back of the bus. With each of the policemen wrenching one of her arms behind her back, she was jerked out of her seat, the contents of her purse and book bag flying everywhere. The cops shoved her out of the bus, handcuffed her, threw her into the back seat of a police cruiser, and drove her to a police station inside the confines of the Denver Federal Center.

Once inside, she was taken down a hall and told to sit in a chair, still handcuffed, while one of the policemen went through her purse, now retrieved from the bus.

The two policemen sat in front of their computers, typing and conferring, trying to figure out what they should charge her with. Eventually, they wrote up several tickets, took her outside and removed the handcuffs, returned her belongings, and pointed her toward the bus stop. She was told that if she ever entered the Denver Federal Center again, she would go to jail.

She hasn't commuted by public bus since that day.

[Russell Kanning]

She and 50 friends should ride the bus on a saturday and refuse to show ID.

[Kat Kanning]

Fast forward a couple of years and I'm taking another flight so I decide to do the same thing.  The guy
asks me to remove my shoes and I just say "I'll take the extra screening."  I move onto the metal detector
and the guy there asks me to remove my shoes.  "I'll take the extra screening," I say.  He is surprised
and says, "Most people don't *want* the extra screening."  I shrug and the screener moves me to the
"VIP" lane as he calls it (the roped off area).

I am then led over to a chair and a guy with a wand.  He's about to get started, but the screener at the metal
detector says "Just the shoes."  What's this?  I was resigned to the whole wanding and patting down, and
was really debating it in my head whether this was worth it, but this was something new.

Get this: I sit in the chair, the guy pulls out some moistened cloth and swabs both my shoes.  I just had to joke
at this point, "I didn't know you shined shoes!"  Which made him chuckle as well.  He placed the cloth on some
machine, hit a button, and no warnings came up. 

I was on my way in less than 30 seconds, way faster than I could have untied and retied my shoes, plus they
were actually shinier than before.

Last night I was at the airport with a lot of time to kill before I picked up my daugther.  I had to get there early if I wanted to meet her at the gate, because they close down the police-state checkpoint when the last plane leaves.  So I decided, I've got all this time, I'll try this.  I kept my shoes on and told the TSA-goon I'd take the extra screening.  She called for a female helper, and I'm thinking, "Damn, they're going to pat me down or something," but all she did was swab my shoes.  I have to admit I rather enjoyed making them get down on their knees and swab my dirty shoes rather than me having to strip 

[Kat Kanning]

http://www.papersplease.org/davis/facts.html

Commuting By Bus In Denver? Papers, Please.
DEB DAVIS LIKES to commute to work by public bus. She uses the time to read, crochet or pay bills. It's her quiet time. What with the high price of gas, she saves money, too: a week's worth of gas money gets her a month's worth of bus rides.

I sent a message to this lady thru her lawyer and thanked her for having the courage to refuse.  And I told her I'd added her to "freedom's inspirations."

[Michael Fisher]

The second cop said everyone had to show ID any time they were asked by the police, adding that if she were in a Wal-Mart and was asked by the police for ID, that she would have to show it there, too.

She explained that she didn't have to show him or any other policeman my ID on a public bus or in a Wal-Mart. She told him she was simply trying to go to work.

The Arrest
Suddenly, the second policeman shouted "Grab her!" and he grabbed the cell phone from her and threw it to the back of the bus. With each of the policemen wrenching one of her arms behind her back, she was jerked out of her seat, the contents of her purse and book bag flying everywhere. The cops shoved her out of the bus, handcuffed her, threw her into the back seat of a police cruiser, and drove her to a police station inside the confines of the Denver Federal Center.

Once inside, she was taken down a hall and told to sit in a chair, still handcuffed, while one of the policemen went through her purse, now retrieved from the bus.

The two policemen sat in front of their computers, typing and conferring, trying to figure out what they should charge her with. Eventually, they wrote up several tickets, took her outside and removed the handcuffs, returned her belongings, and pointed her toward the bus stop. She was told that if she ever entered the Denver Federal Center again, she would go to jail.

Sounds like a good opportunity for a mass civil disobedience in Denver.   

[Russell Kanning]

There seems to be at least one that took it to the next level.

[Dreepa]

Sounds like a good opportunity for a mass civil disobedience in Denver.??

Unfortunately, the Californicators moved to Denver and bred. I really don't know how many freedom minded people you're going to find.

Yeah I mean a whole state with a few million people... there can't be any.
Of course I can count at least 15 CA people who have moved to NH already and can think of about 10 more.

[Kat Kanning]

I sent a message about the Denver thing to fspco and some LP types, asking them to take a ride on the bus w/o ID.

[Dave Ridley]

i'll be in CO some this month, let me know if anything is going on that i could participate in